The Carlsbad Formation

The Carlsbad, also known as the Orthodox Exchange formation, is a very well-known and thoroughly studied pawn structure. In fact, it is one of the few pawn structures which has received the attention other structures in this book deserve. The Carlsbad can be reached from many different move orders, and in some cases with reversed colours, such as in the Caro-Kann after: l .e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5. Despite this fact, every game presented in this chapter will have White and Black playing the roles as presented in the diagram at the top of this page.

White's plans :

This position offers two main lines of attack for White:

1. Pursuing the so-called minority attack with b2-b4-b5 in order to create a queenside weakness.

2. Pushing f2-f3 and e3-e4 (or sometimes e3-e4 directly) gaining central space and creating tension.

Given any position, it is likely that only one of these plans will work well. This will depend on how the pieces are arranged, and how Black's queenside structure is set up. For example, the character of the game can change dramatically if Black's pawns are set up as a7-b6-c7 instead of the more typical a6-b7-c6. In addition, White's queenside plan is less likely to work if the lightsquared bishop has been developed on g2.

Black's plans :

1. The main plan is to place a knight on e4 and to create a kingside attack, but this is not always possible. For example, White might choose a set-up in which f2-f3 is included

2. The most common auxiliary plan is to play ... b7-b6 and ... c6-c5 in order to transpose into a hanging pawns position. Or sometimes just ... c6-c5 is played directly, hence dxc5 transposes into an isolani.

3. An important though far less common plan is to play ... b7-b5 once White has played b2-b4, in order to obtain a firm outpost for a knight placed on c4. This plan is less common because ... b7-b5 also creates a weakness - a backward c6-pawn, which could cause this plan to backfire.

The first game in this chapter illustrates how necessary it is for White to place his dark-squared bishop outside the pawn chain (say on g5 instead of d2). The second game is an ideal execution of White's minority attack, while the third is an example of Black neutralizing this plan after some precise moves. The fourth game in the chapter explains how White must react if Black's queenside is arranged as a7-b6-c7. The last two games show the consequences of White carrying out the e3-e4 break first successfully and then unsuccessfully.